Of all the royal families of ancient or modern fame, few are as iconic as the eighteenth dynasty of pharaohs of the New Kingdom of Egypt, whose opulence and deeds we are still familiar to nearly 3,500 ... [more ▼]

Of all the royal families of ancient or modern fame, few are as iconic as the eighteenth dynasty of pharaohs of the New Kingdom of Egypt, whose opulence and deeds we are still familiar to nearly 3,500 years after their time. Tenth pharaoh of this dynasty and father of Tutankhamun, Akhenaten (Amenhotep/Amenhotep IV) still fascinates Egyptologists and history lovers through the many questions surrounding his atypical rule. One of the most striking aspects of the so-called Amarna period concerns the representations of the pharaoh himself, very confusing compared to the traditional iconography of the New Kingdom. These intriguing portraits of Pharaoh raised a whole lot of medical assumptions, more or less substantiated. We review here the main theories developed throughout history. [less ▲]

Light pollution is defined as the abnormal and disturbing presence of light and its adverse consequences on flora, faunae, ecosystems and its suspected or proven effects on human health. Light pollution ... [more ▼]

Light pollution is defined as the abnormal and disturbing presence of light and its adverse consequences on flora, faunae, ecosystems and its suspected or proven effects on human health. Light pollution is a quite recent and increasing phenomenon within our society and it leads to a major environmental damage, obviously near wildlife, but also on human health (cancers, obesity, fatigue, depression...). The solutions to this problem are however simple, efficient and de facto inexpensive and involving a substantial energy saving. [less ▲]

Electroencephalographic activity in the context of disorders of consciousness is a swiss knife like tool that can evaluate different aspects of cognitive residual function, detect consciousness and ... [more ▼]

Electroencephalographic activity in the context of disorders of consciousness is a swiss knife like tool that can evaluate different aspects of cognitive residual function, detect consciousness and provide a mean to communicate with the outside world without using muscular channels. Standard recordings in the neurological department offer a first global view of the electrogenesis of a patient and can spot abnormal epileptiform activity and therefore guide treatment. Although visual patterns have a prognosis value, they are not sufficient to provide a diagnosis between vegetative state/unresponsive wakefulness syndrome (VS/UWS) and minimally conscious state (MCS) patients. Quantitative electroencephalography (qEEG) processes the data and retrieves features, not visible on the raw traces, which can then be classified. Current results using qEEG show that MCS can be differentiated from VS/UWS patients at the group level. Event Related Potentials (ERP) are triggered by varying stimuli and reflect the time course of information processing related to the stimuli from low-level peripheral receptive structures to high-order associative cortices. It is hence possible to assess auditory, visual, or emotive pathways. Different stimuli elicit positive or negative components with different time signatures. The presence of these components when observed in passive paradigms is usually a sign of good prognosis but it cannot differentiate VS/UWS and MCS patients. Recently, researchers have developed active paradigms showing that the amplitude of the component is modulated when the subject's attention is focused on a task during stimulus presentation. Hence significant differences between ERPs of a patient in a passive compared to an active paradigm can be a proof of consciousness. An EEG-based brain-computer interface (BCI) can then be tested to provide the patient with a communication tool. BCIs have considerably improved the past two decades. However they are not easily adaptable to comatose patients as they can have visual or auditory impairments or different lesions affecting their EEG signal. Future progress will require large databases of resting state-EEG and ERPs experiment of patients of different etiologies. This will allow the identification of specific patterns related to the diagnostic of consciousness. Standardized procedures in the use of BCIs will also be needed to find the most suited technique for each individual patient. [less ▲]

We report the case of a 45 years old woman who experienced two episodes of facial palsy, first on the left side, then on the other. this particular case allows us to discuss the diagnostic process and ... [more ▼]

We report the case of a 45 years old woman who experienced two episodes of facial palsy, first on the left side, then on the other. this particular case allows us to discuss the diagnostic process and clinical reasoning to follow in front of this symptomatology -using a didactic questioning- and to briefly review the anatomy of the seventh cranial nerve. treatment and possible complications are also discussed [less ▲]

We discuss the case of two patients who developped delayed malignant peripheral nerve sheath tumor (MPNST) following radiotherapy. Case report: the first patient is a sixty year-old woman with a 2 years ... [more ▼]

We discuss the case of two patients who developped delayed malignant peripheral nerve sheath tumor (MPNST) following radiotherapy. Case report: the first patient is a sixty year-old woman with a 2 years history of right cervicobrachial pain and weakness. The neurological examination depicted severe weakness, atrophy and loss of sensation in the right C5 and C6 territories. A subclavicular hardened and enlarged lymph node was noted. Her past medical history was notable for a Hodgkin’s disease (HD) treated with radiation therapy (>40Gy) 35 years earlier. Brachial plexus MRI revealed a tumoral mass arising from the right brachial plexus. Biopsy of the subclavicular mass revealed a poorly differentiated malignant tumour consisting of spindle cells showing moderate polymorphism and a high mitotic index. Immunohistochemistry showed positivity for the S-100 protein, the CD56 and for the epithelial membrane antigen (EMA) and a diagnosis of MPNST of the brachial plexus was proposed. The second case is a 36 year-old man referred for a history of right sciatic neuralgia that appeared 3 years earlier. The medical history of the patient was notable for a right seminoma, treated by orchidectomy and prophylactic radiotherapy (24 Gy) 5 years earlier. The neurologic examination revealed right L5 and S1 radicular territories involvement, and the CT of the pelvis demonstrated a nodular mass at the level of the greater sciatic foramen. A surgical biopsy was performed and the neuropathological findings were consistent with a diagnosis of low-grade MPSNT. Discussion: MPNSTs are rare tumors accounting for 3 to 10% of all tissues sarcomas. Half of the cases described are sporadic, while the other half tend to appear in patients suffering from tumor prone conditions, such as neurofibromatosis type 1. Although secondary neoplasms are known complications of radiotherapy, descriptions of peripheral nerve sheath tumors (PNST) are scarce. The exact pathophysiology of radiation-induced PNSTs remains unclear but vascular alterations, direct damages to axon or Schwann cell and nerve compression by soft tissue fibrosis are thought to play a role. Although surgical removal sometimes followed by chemotherapy is the mainstay of MPNSTs, they usually carry a poor prognosis. Our 2 cases emphasize that the possibility of radiation-induced MPNST has to be kept in mind when investigating a localized neuropathy in a previously irradiated area. [less ▲]

The activity patterns adopted by brain neuronal populations differ dramatically between wakefulness and sleep. However, these vigilance states are not independent and they reciprocally interact. Here, we ... [more ▼]

The activity patterns adopted by brain neuronal populations differ dramatically between wakefulness and sleep. However, these vigilance states are not independent and they reciprocally interact. Here, we provide evidence that in humans, regional brain activity during wakefulness is influenced by sleep regulation, namely by the interaction between sleep homeostasis and circadian signals. We also show that, by contrast, regional brain activity during sleep is influenced by the experience acquired during the preceding waking period. These data reveal the dynamic interactions by which the succession of vigilance states support normal brain function and human cognition. [less ▲]

Alzheimer's disease is the most common neurodegenerative disease encountered in patients over 60 years. By its prevalence and the consequent individual and social loss of function Alzheimer's disease is a ... [more ▼]

Alzheimer's disease is the most common neurodegenerative disease encountered in patients over 60 years. By its prevalence and the consequent individual and social loss of function Alzheimer's disease is a major public health problem. With the presentation of a clinical story of Alzheimer's disease in an elderly patient, we propose a diagnostic and therapeutic discussion on this clinical problem. We must adjust the treatment for each patient and overall not omit the non pharmacological therapeutic approaches. [less ▲]

Since their inception in the 1970's, monoclonal antibody therapies became increasingly efficient and common in numerous medical conditions and their use in neurology has been boosted during the last ... [more ▼]

Since their inception in the 1970's, monoclonal antibody therapies became increasingly efficient and common in numerous medical conditions and their use in neurology has been boosted during the last couple of years with the rise of natalizumab (Tysabri). Furthermore, if most monoclonal antibodies currently assessed in neurologic conditions remain considered as experimental, they may soon become first-line approved treatments in a broad range of neuromuscular and demyelinating diseases. Since the introduction of new therapies is likely to unravel specific adverse events and sui generis iatrogenic disorders, it is important to be able to recognize the side-effects of monoclonal antibodies delivered for neurological or non-neurological diseases. [less ▲]